Opinion

In the weeks since the New York Yankees won their 27th World Series championship, the haters have been out in full force with the usual and increasingly tiresome cries of "They bought another championship!" 

These cries almost overwhelmingly come from those under the age of thirty, whose memories don't stretch back before 1996.  The conceit and arrogance of youth, however, don't overcome the truth.

On Monday, I pondered if Jose Valverde was going to be this year's Orlando Hudson. Just three days later, the number of teams who could potentially be interested in Valverde continues to wane. Two teams I thought could have interest in Valverde seem to have moved in different directions.

The Mets are a changing team, maybe not with Free Agent signings this winter, but definitely with dynamics.

Jeff Francoeur is undoubtedly a gamer and will fight for his convictions. Whoever it is that stands in his way had better yield, and the Mets will benefit from his fiery mentality.

I admit I was not a fan of Francoeur when he was a Brave and was very upset when Ryan Church was sent packing to Atlanta.

His play and attitude in the second half of 2009 made me a believer that Francoeur is and can continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the Mets.

It looks like the Braves have found their right-handed power hitter.

Despite playing only six games in his career at first base, the Braves signed Troy Glaus to a one-year/$2 million contract yesterday:

Free agent corner infielder Troy Glaus and the Atlanta Braves have reached a tentative agreement on a contract, a baseball source told ESPN.com on Wednesday.

The New York Mets had a year to forget in 2009.

The team was inept in playing the game on a daily basis not to mention they dealt with litany of injuries. Then, they watched their hated rivals facing each other in the World Series, and the Yankees capped off the Mets' troubled season by winning the championship.

In a week from now, the year will be over, but it does not mean the misery will end next season.

The Mets will do okay as long as they don't have injury issues. With that said, they are no better than the Phillies, Braves and the Marlins.

Whispers wandered around the web earlier this week that the New York Yankees had called the Chicago Cubs to inquire about the availability of the Cubs' ace, Carlos Zambrano. A lot has been written already about that potential marriage, so I won't waste a lot of space on it other than to mention it as a foundation for the discussion I'm about to begin.

Who hates the Yankees? Okay, everyone outside of New York. But the hatred is especially deep in Boston, where the rival Red Sox watched the Bronx Bombers spend a billion dollars to buy a World Series championship in 2009.

According to The New York Daily News' Adam Rubin, Jason Bay's agent, Joe Urban, has been MIA for the last few days. Sounds like classic dating trouble. Things were getting interesting, but now she's not answering the phone. "She's just not that into you," may apply.

Meanwhile, WEEI's Rob Bradford reports that the Red Sox are considering another offer to Bay. Sounds like Bay went looking for something better, realized he was throwing away a good thing, and is now trying to get Boston to take him back. 

You better watch out!

You better pout!

You better cry, and I'm telling you why!

Santa Minaya, and the Wilpon Elf's are coming to ruin your Christmas.

In case you have been preoccupied with holiday shopping, family gatherings, caroling, and way too much egg nog, the Mets have found a way to make the retail economy look like the good ole surplus days of the 1990's.

The Mets have done absolutely nothing this off-season, and I am counting the signings of R.A. Dickey and Henri Blanco.

After letting their top target, Mike Cameron, slip away to the Red Sox while they tried desperately to unload Milton Bradley, the Cubs are now left holding six million dollars, and wondering who will be manning center field next season.

Looking at the list of available free agents, I'm not convinced that anyone out there can provide any more bang for the buck than former first round pick Tyler Colvin. Let's examine the potential candidates on the free agent market: